A Good Time Was Not Had By All 11/29-12/01/21

Carson Village, Birmingham, Alabama

Jacob had twelve sons.  The next 4 verses list his sons by wives, Leah’s (1^st wife), Rachel’s (2^nd wife and the one he loved), Bilhah’s (Rachel’s servant) and Zilpah’s (Leah’s servant).  I’d like to list them in birth order and add the initial of the mom, if you don’t mind.  Reuben (L), Simeon(L), Levi(L), Judah(L), Dan(B), Naphtali(B), Gad(Z), Asher(Z), Issachar(L), Zebulun(L), Joseph(R) and Benjamin(R). ~ Genesis 35:23-26     This is another case of what can we learn here.  We need to keep in mind that ALL scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…(II Timothy 3:16).  Yesterday we talked about why Judah ended up with the firstborn privileges and responsibilities.  Notice that God chose to honor Leah as Jacob’s first wife by blessing her with half the sons.  Even though Jacob sinned by taking a second wife and two concubines, even though the two wives sinned by sending their servants in to sleep with Jacob, God not only always looked at Leah as the covenant wife (meaning she should’ve been the one and only), He also used Joseph, son of Rachel to save Egypt.  He used Reuben to keep Joseph from being murdered by his brothers. He used Levi’s zealous nature to father the Levites who became God’s priests following the golden calf incident (they were the only one of the twelve tribes who didn’t participate in idol worship).  He used Benjamin’s line to father Saul, the first king of Israel.  He used Dan’s line to father Samson.  He used Naphtali’s line to valiantly support Gideon in defense against the Midianites, and later helped David when he assumed the throne.  He chose to make Asher’s line “full of extraordinary wisdom” (according to one commentator). He made Gad’s line into brave and capable warriors.  He also made Issachar and Zebulun’s lines into warriors.  In fact, the only one I couldn’t find information on was Simeon, and I don’t know why. God can and often does, use even our sin-filled lives to further His Kingdom.

These two days were definitely NOT good days.  Blaine took me to WalMart for our third Covid booster.  To repay me, he took me clothes shopping all day.  I’ll bet we went to a dozen shops all over the suburbs of Birmingham, and not one place had a single solitary nice lightweight sweater!  There were tons of ‘ugly sweaters’ which seem to be all the rage now, and there were tons of casual sweaters and sweatshirts, but nothing even close to what I was looking for.  So frustrating!  I had ordered exactly what I wanted from an on-line business, only for Blaine to discover later that it’s being shipped from China. 

Good grief!  Maybe I’ll have it for next year . . .

The best part of the day?  We stopped for Chic-fil-A for lunch.  Did you know they’ve been around since 1946?!?  We had no idea!  God has truly blessed that business for staying true to Him – closed on Sundays, treating their customers with friendliness and respect, and giving back; to employees and the communities they’re located in, donating millions in scholarships, ‘true inspiration awards’, the Salvation Army, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Junior Achievement and Paul Anderson Youth Homes.

The following pictorial history came from Chick-fil-A’s website:

In just 10 months, from March 2020 to January 2021, more than 110,000 restaurants all over the US permanently went out of business (via US Chamber of Commerce). With fewer customers, adjusted hours, and relying solely on to-go orders for business, the restaurant industry was hit especially hard by the effects of COVID-19. 

Even while adhering to the proper social distancing and health guidelines, Chick-fil-A’s numbers never wavered. In fact, the fast food chain experienced such financial success that it was able to open up even more franchise locations.

FOX Business reports that Chick-fil-A’s non-mall locations made an average of $7,096,393 in 2020, while other locations of the fast food chain were in the $6 million range. And 45% of Chick-fil-A’s franchises reported higher annual sales, with its most successful location making a whopping $17,164,510.

Chick-fil-A did so well during the pandemic, in fact, that none of its locations temporarily or permanently closed its doors in 2020, because they never ended up having to — and it wasn’t that Chick-fil-A did anything out of the ordinary, it was simply that the brand has loyal customers. 

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Chick-fil-A is known for having really long drive-thru lines yet exceptional customer service. During the pandemic, those lines got even longer — at all fast-food joints, though, not just Chick-fil-A — because indoor dining was closed. However, because the brand’s fans were already accustomed to waiting in long lines thanks to the consistency of its customer service and the quality of the food, business at the chain didn’t suffer. As it turns out, fried chicken is that much more delicious when it’s served by a friendly employee. ~ mashed.com

So now that we’ve driven that little detour, let’s get back to our day.  😊

Around lunchtime, my left arm began hurting at the injection site.  The further along we went through the afternoon, the more it hurt, and it spread from fingertips to shoulder and then into my neck.  By the time we got home, it was in my back and I was getting chills non-stop.  My head felt like some kind of weird headache and my bones ached – even my teeth.  I dug out my electric blanket and cranked it up as I sat on the couch in front of the TV until I went to bed just after 8pm.  By then, I could barely move, so Blaine had to mostly make my bed as I dictated instructions.

Blaine informed me the next morning that he’d had bouts of chills, etc. beginning around 1am, but by the time the rooster crowed (Well, not technically.  That’s one sound we don’t hear in the wee hours of the morning.), he was better.

I, on the other hand, managed to eat a bowl of oatmeal before crawling back into bed.  I wanted so badly to sleep, but it wasn’t easy with all the semis, pick-ups, loud cars, motorcycles, trains and airplanes that decided 4am – 8:30am was the best time to make as much noise as possible.

I sat up, and the room felt like it was 100⁰!  No more chills!  But now I’m warm and stuffy and still very achy.

Great way to spend two days, don’t ya think?

Oh.  And we definitely won’t see David until at least Wednesday, and maybe not till Saturday.  His company (who inspects large factory equipment, etc.) has called on him to work on getting the International Paper Mill in Prattville, Alabama (about 2 hours away) up and running, or at least inspected so they know what they need to do.  A few weeks ago, it was in the news that the place suffered an implosion.

There was hope that tomorrow would be a better day.

And it was!  At least for me.  Blaine took me shopping for crafty stuff (to three stores) and food stuff to make a family favorite – Geosa and fried rice (taught to me by my Okinawan aunt).  Since WalMart didn’t have any cabbage (a mandatory ingredient), we stopped at Publix, where lo and behold they reminded me that it was Sushi Wednesday!  Yippee!!!!  So Blaine and I shared a half-priced dish for lunch.  Our exercise? Urban Hiking. We logged just under three miles walking around stores today! Up and down most every isle because we didn’t know where to find stuff. Then, my brother took us out for a fantastic steak dinner at a place called Fireside.  And I was feeling much better, but not quite 100%.

And just as we arrived for dinner, Blaine received a notification that one of our future campgrounds in Texas would be closed during our intended stay!  So now, he’ll have to try to find someplace else for us to stay, which won’t be easy in Texas in the winter.  Please Father, make a way. . .

At least I provided a short history of Chick-fil-A to make it a little bit interesting.